Is Your Credit Report Accurate?
Consumer Bureau taking action to improve credit reporting
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has filed a joint brief with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a case against credit reporting agency TransUnion. The legal move seeks to expand consumer protection in the credit reporting industry. Specifically, the brief argues that reporting agencies — including TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax — have a legal obligation under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to address inaccuracies in consumer credit reports.
In a blog post on the subject, the CFPB notes that errors in credit reports can have devastating consequences for consumers.
Even a seemingly minor inaccuracy in a credit report can lead to a consumer being denied a loan, housing, or job. However, credit reporting companies’ customers are usually the lenders, landlords, and employers who purchase credit reports, not the consumers whose financial lives are affected by them. This raises a real concern that credit reporting companies won’t pay enough attention to disputes or other issues that consumers raise about their reports.
The brief by the CFPB and FTC urges the court to find in favor of a consumer suing TransUnion and notes that:
The brief filed by the CFPB and FTC points out…